美国政府决定从8月4日开始，停止施行已经两年，禁止乘客带普通打火机上飞机的政策。美国运输部认为，在乘客登机前搜索他们身上是否携带打火机，根本是浪费时间。 2001年当鞋子炸弹客芮德意图在从巴黎飞往迈阿密的班机上，用火柴引燃藏在鞋子里的炸弹後，美国政府在国会的坚持之下，终於宣布了禁带打火机上机的命令。 . Y2 b6 h$ F" f0 E Z" j9 I4 x- [6 \) J( Z
Cigarette lighter ban 'a waste of time': US7 C2 H5 M& F. U
US authorities will no longer enforce a two-year-old ban against taking cigarette lighters on planes because searching passengers wasted time and did not improve aviation security, the New York Times reports.! f1 N) a% q6 m+ R* U
; C: o/ |8 n3 u+ N ^' _6 f* A: [The ban on lighters was ordered by US lawmakers after a passenger, Richard Reid, tried to ignite a bomb in his shoe in 2001 on a flight from Paris to Miami. 1 [" D! c% V( |; R- s ]$ N% W" I/ j$ c n
Reid, known as the "shoe bomber", had used matches to try to ignite explosives concealed in his shoe and is currently serving a life sentence for trying to blow up the transatlantic flight.' j& u8 Y9 j4 `3 C4 \, m9 R
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US authorities have never tried to ban matches from flights.+ P. k) f% j( w4 J
- [/ E+ x7 _+ a4 A) SUS Transport Security Administration assistant secretary Kip Hawley says the ban on lighters did not significantly enhance security because small batteries could be used to detonate a bomb.# X, N1 P! D, e
Mr Hawley says lifting the prohibition will free up security officers to spend more time looking for bombs or bomb parts. 6 N9 X& v% ~4 h" _ H/ ^8 {: p+ ^; u7 d9 h% V
"The number one threat for us is someone trying to bring bomb components through the security check point," he said.1 q: r' T! i! N, h
3 F! ?2 h2 T6 b, S3 J5 j"We don't want anything that distracts concentration from searching for that."" p3 O+ z6 n8 w& Q0 i8 `% N
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The policy change is to take effect on August 4 and applies to disposable butane lighters and refillable lighters. 0 M; i& x* \( _, Y4 s: b$ H . l2 x, I4 z. S% H X: FThe New York Times says some 22,000 lighters a day are collected by security officers at airports across the United States and disposing of the confiscated lighters has cost about $US4 million a year.
